


No One Will Be Lonely.

by WhatATime



Series: Loneliness Will Never Be an Option [2]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Brotherly Affection, Brotherly Bonding, Brotherly Love, Crack Treated Seriously, Damian Wayne Feels, Damian cares more than he wants to admit, Damian is Awkward af, Depression, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Families of Choice, Gen, Hurt Tim Drake, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Recovery, Tim is Awkward af, weird families bonding weirdly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-02
Updated: 2018-07-02
Packaged: 2019-06-01 10:39:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15141323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhatATime/pseuds/WhatATime
Summary: Sequel to my story "No One Deserves to Be Lonely."Damian helps Tim through a tough time, and Tim ends up helping him a bit too. The rest of the family notices.





	No One Will Be Lonely.

**Author's Note:**

> I loved the first one, so I wrote a second. You can read that one first for more context on Tim's problems.

Jason was casually stealing cookies from the kitchen when he heard walking. That was weird. Both boys usually kept a non-lethal distance from each other. He was pretty sure they hated each other. Dick said it was bad, but Jason honestly didn’t care. If they wanted to kill each other, that meant more cookies for him. 

 

He was curious to see who was killing who, so he got up from the countertop with five cookies in his hands. He walked into the living room to see Damian holding Tim’s hand and walking. Well, it looked more like dragging, but those were semantics when it came to Domain. “Whatcha doin,” Jason asked with a cookie in his mouth. Damian glared at him.

“Have some manners, Todd. Close your mouth while you chew. Where we are going is none of your concern.” Jason stood in their path.

“Brotherly bonding?”

“I will castrate you. Move.” Jason moved, but didn’t stop bothering them. 

“Where are you all going, Replacement.”

“Shut up, Todd,” Damian said. That was scary. Damian never defended Tim. if anything, Jason and Damian teamed up to make him miserable.

“Did something happen?”

“No.” Why wasn’t Tim talking? He usually had a few quips when it came to Jason and Damian.

“Something wrong?”

“No.” Damian and Tim went up the stairwell. Jason followed until they got to Damian’s room. Damian shut the door in his face and locked it. Jason decided he’d know what happened based on the funeral he went to. He cackled as he went away. “Sit,” Damian ordered Tim when they were finally alone. Tim sat down on Damian’s bed. “Stay.” Damian thought maybe he should learn speech patterns not made for animals. He went to his desk and opened his laptop. He googled  _ How to make a brother happy. _ He clicked a web page and read. 

 

_ Have Fun with Your Brother _

 

  * __Play Games__


  * _Make your brother laugh_


  * _Watch TV or a movie_


  * _Have a fun day_



 

 

Damian was interrupted from his reading with sniffling. He cursed under his breath as he saw Tim crying. He opened a new tab.  _ How do I make my brother stop crying? _

 

 

  * __Give him a hug.__


  * _Talk about feelings._



 

 

Damian had to hold back a gag. Maybe he should have called Dick. He was pretty sure Dick was better at this feelings stuff. He’d already given Tim a hug like the book he’d read said. Maybe he should give him another one? Damian needed to pull himself together, stop being a wimp, and comfort Tim… he really should’ve called Dick. 

 

He stood up and walked over to Tim. “Do you require another embrace,” he asked. He tried to use a soft tone, but it came out a bit more gruff than he’d hoped. Hopefully Tim would see the sentiment. Tim sniffled and nodded. Damian got on the bed and hugged him again. He hoped he was doing it right. He’d never done it before. Sure, he’d been hugged by Dick, but he’d never hugged somebody. Damian thanked God when Tim stopped crying. “Would you like to discuss… emotion?” Tim shook his head. Damian was so happy Tim was as emotionally constipated as their father.

 

Damian had figured Tim was lonely. He saw signs similar to those he’d read in books. That in addition to his own experience. Damian wasn’t exactly the most social kid, and didn’t have any friends, but he’d learned his own ways to cope. What really caught his attention was when he saw scars on Tim’s wrist. He knew self mutilation was common in depression, but he thought his father or Dick would have noticed. He wasn’t sure whether or not to tell them.

 

Damian felt a weight on him. He noticed Tim falling asleep. He was pretty sure Tim already suffered from insomnia before this mess, so he doubted the teen had gotten much sleep in past months. He let Tim lay down on his bed as the teenager’s eyes slipped closed. “Never been in your room before,” Tim whispered as Damian covered him with a blanket to keep Tim from getting cold.  He didn’t want Tim sick.   Red Robin had duties to uphold that would be hampered by illness. Damian didn’t think about the fact that  his brother  Tim had never been in his room. The only people he ever let in were Dick and Alfred. His father had never tried to come inside.

 

Damian slowly and quietly got off the bed and slipped out of the room. He locked the door to ensure no one would bother Tim. Damian had things to take care of. He’d made a checklist and printed it off. He went to his father first. 

 

Bruce was sitting in his study doing whatever billionaire playboys do when Damian arrived. “Father,” Damian greeted.

“Hi, Damian. Did you need something?”

“What are Drake’s favorite past times?” 

“He liked photography I think.”

“Any book genres?”

“Tim reads anything.” Damian wrote that down.

“May I have the contact information for his teachers?” Bruce turned his desktop on. 

“I can email them to you. What’re you planning?”

“Nothing devious I can assure you.” Bruce nodded. “Drake will not be at patrol for the next week.”

“Why?”

“We are working a case that requires his full attention. Batman will also have to patrol alone.”

“Okay, thank you for letting me know.” Damian nodded and left. What was he planning, Bruce wondered.

 

Damian went to Alfred next. The man was dusting a random room when Damian came in. “Pennyworth,” he called.

“How may I be of assistance, Master Damian?”

“In what does Drake indulge?”

“Pardon me?”

“Are there certain edibles that he particularly enjoys?”

“I believe he enjoys doughnuts, Hawaiian pizza and Zesti, and potato chips.” Damian wrote it down. “What are you working on?”

“A project.”

“Good in intention I hope.”

“Always, Pennyworth. Your help is appreciated.” Damian left and went to find Jason. “Todd,” Damian yelled. Jason jumped from where he was watching TV. 

“What,” Jason said annoyedly.

“I have a list of items I need procured. Your skills would be quite useful.”

“Why?”

“You possess a driving license and common sense. Do see to it that these are retrieved no later than this evening.” Damin handed him the list.

“Alfred goes shopping tomorrow. Give it to him.”

“I need it tonight.”

“I’m busy.” Damian sighed and pulled out his secret weapon that Dick helped him craft. He looked at Jason with pitiful puppy dog eyes.

“Todd, I was trying to do a project, but I’m too little to go to the store. Please help me?” 

“Gosh, kid! Stop with eyes! I’ll go, but please stop. We need to stop leaving you with Grayson.” Jason got up to get the list of items. Damian collected himself. Worked like a charm. He then went to the house phone to call Dick. 

_ “Hello?” _

“Grayson.”

_ “Little D, hey! What’s up?” _

“What does Drake enjoy watching?”

_ “Like movies?” _

“Yes.” Dick listed a few movies and Damian wrote them down. “Your assistance is appreciated, Grayson. You will be present at the bimonthly dinner?” Though Damian would never admit it, he loved whenever Dick was home.

_ “Of course, Little D. See you then!” _ Damian hung up. His plan was going perfectly.

… 

When Tim woke up, he was confused as to where he was. This wasn’t his bed, his room, or his blanket. He remembered he’d fallen asleep in Damian’s room. He didn’t know why Damian was being so nice to him, but it made him less lonely, so he didn’t question it. He saw Damian sitting next to him with a book. The boy didn’t seem to notice him. Tim decided to take a risk and roll over onto Damian’s lap. He was surprised when the boy didn’t contest, but actually put a hand on Tim’s back. Tim sighed contentedly as he drifted back off.

 

Tim was more awake the second time around. He was still on Damian. He sat up. “Timothy,” Damian greeted. Tim liked it better when Damian called him Timothy.

“Hey,” Tim murmured as he sat against the headboard next to Damian.

“I trust you rested well.” 

“Yeah, I guess so.” Tim looked at the clock. “I have to get to--”

“Robin and Red Robin are working on a special mission for the next week. They’re not patrolling.” 

“Oh.”

“I have food and entertainment,” Damian said. Tim looked at a tray with food.

“How’d you find out my favorite foods?”

“I’m a detective,” Damian said proudly he handed Tim the tray and the teenager started eating. Tim saw a portable DVD player with his favorite movies too. 

“You must have done a lot of detective work.”

“I work fast.” Damian handed Tim six folders with school subjects written on them.

“What’s this?”

“Your homework for the rest of the semester.”

“That’s until Summer break.”

“Your work isn’t that hard, Timothy.”

“Thank you,” Tim said earnestly. Damian blushed. When Tim finished eating, Damian delivered the tray to Alfred and came back with a small notebook and pen. He sat back on the bed next to Tim. 

“What has been ailing you,” Damian asked. Tim played with his fingers.

“Nothing. I--”

“That is untrue,” Damian interrupted. 

“I dunno. I’ve just been a little lonely lately,” Tim whispered. 

“Do you not have friends on the Teen Titans?”

“I have acquaintances.”

“I see. Is there a reason you did not tell Father your concerns?”

“Bruce wouldn’t know what to do.” Tim didn’t know why he was being so honest with Damian. He also didn’t know why Damian was even bothering. “I thought you hated me,” Tim said.

“Contrary to popular belief, I’ve never hated any of you all. Except Brown, but she doesn’t count.” Tim nodded. 

“Why’re you being so nice?”

“Grayson says we are… brothers. Is this not what one does for his or her brother?”

“I guess so.”

“Very well, but you should not be harming yourself anymore.”

“Okay.”

“I will be checking.”

“Okay.” 

“Should I be notifying Father--”   
“Please don’t tell, Bruce,” Tim said desperately.

“Why?”

“He’ll-- he just-- please don’t.”

“Do you wish to… not be present?” Tim did, but not anymore.

“Not anymore,” Tim answered honestly.

“If you do again, you have permission to approach me.” Damian was so sweet.

“Thanks.” 

“I will admit to you that I myself sometimes wish to have company.” 

“Mutualism,” Tim said. 

“Sure. Now, we shall watch one of your movies.” The boys set a movie up. Tim pulled Damian into his lap and Damian held the DVD player in his. He didn’t mind being in Tim’s lap. Tim liked having someone to hold onto.

“What does Bruce think we’re doing,” Tim asked in the middle of the movie.

“We’re working a case.”

“Have you--”

“I already did one we will present.”

“You thought ahead.”

“I have good foresight.” Damian leaned his head on Tim’s chest.

… 

The whole family found Damian’s planning to be suspicious. They were all standing outside Damian’s door wondering what he was doing to Tim, or what Tim was doing to him. They didn’t hear ightin, so that was a good sign. “Why don’t we just knock,” Jason asked.

“Damian doesn’t let anyone in there,” Bruce responded.

“He lets Alfie and I in,” Dick said. Bruce and Jason pushed Dick to the door.

“Do it,” Bruce ordered. Dick took a deep breath and knocked on the door. They heard shuffling. Then Tim cracked the door and peeked out. 

“What do you need?”

“You’re alive,” Jason said in awe.

“Well duh.”

“Is Dami available,” Dick asked.

“No,” Tim said.

“What’s he doing?”

“Stuff.” 

“Why aren’t you opening the door,” Bruce asked.

“Privacy,” Tim responded.

“Are you holding something,” Jason asked.

“No,” Tim said with a perfect poker face. “I have to go.” He shut the door. 

“Bruce, he killed Dami,” Dick said in awe. “He killed my baby!”

“Are we sure,” Jason asked.

“You saw his face! Timmy killed my baby!” 

“Dick, calm down,” Bruce said. “I don’t think that’s what he meant.” Dick nodded and took a breath. 

… 

Tim carried Damian back to the bed. The boy was like a sleeping koala. His limbs were wrapped around Tim, and he wouldn’t let go. Tim didn’t mind. He laid down with Damian on his chest. The boy emitted soft snores that Tim wouldn’t dare call cute to his face. Tim had all he needed. He believed he could finally be happy again. So, Tim went to sleep himself.


End file.
